The impact of industry and body part injured on repeat workers' compensation claims.

BACKGROUND: Few studies investigate the influence of body part injured and industry on future workers' compensation claims. METHODS: Using claims incurred from 1 January 2005 to 31 July 2015 (n = 77 494) from the largest workers' compensation insurer in Colorado, we assessed associations between worker characteristics, second claims involving any body part and the same body part. We utilized Cox proportional hazards models to approximate the probability of a second claim. RESULTS: First claims represented 74.9% (n = 58 007) and second claims 25.2% (n = 19 487) of total claims. Sex, age, industry, and body part of the first claim were associated with the probability of second claims and the body part affected. The 5-year probabilities of second claims and same body part second claims were 27.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 26.6%-27.5%) and 6.2% (95% CI: 5.9%-6.5%) in males and 26.5% (95% CI: 26.0%-27.0%) and 6.7% (95% CI: 6.5%-7.0%) in females. Most second claims occurred within 3 years. CONCLUSIONS: Most second claims occur within 3 years. Body part and industry-specific injury patterns suggest missed opportunities for prevention.

A prospective study of the psychosocial impact of a positive Chlamydia trachomatis laboratory test.

BACKGROUND: Few data exist on potential harms of chlamydia screening. We assessed the psychosocial impact of receiving a positive Chlamydia trachomatis test result. METHODS: We prospectively studied women ≥16 years of age undergoing chlamydia testing in 2 Midwestern family planning clinics. We surveyed women at baseline and about 1 month after receiving test results, using 9 validated psychosocial scales/subscales and chlamydia-specific questions. Changes in scale scores were calculated for each woman. Mean percent changes in scores for chlamydia-positive and -negative women were compared using a t test. RESULTS: We enrolled 1807 women (response rate, 84%). Of the 1688 women with test results, 149 (8.8%) tested positive. At follow-up, chlamydia-positive women (n = 71) had a 75% increase in anxiety about sexual aspects of their life on the Multidimensional Sexual Self-Concept Questionnaire (P < 0.001), significantly greater than the 26% increase among 280 randomly selected chlamydia-negative women (P = 0.02). There were no differences for the other 8 scales/subscales, including general measures of anxiety, depression, and self-esteem. Chlamydia-positive women were more likely than chlamydia-negative women to be "concerned about chlamydia" (80% vs. 40%, P < 0.001) and to report breaking up with a main partner (33% vs. 11%, P < 0.001) at follow-up. Women testing positive reported a range of chlamydia-specific concerns. CONCLUSIONS: Chlamydia-positive women had significant increases in anxiety about sex and concern about chlamydia, but did not have marked changes in more general measures of psychosocial well-being about 1 month after diagnosis. Chlamydia diagnoses were associated with some disruption of relationships with main partners. Chlamydia-specific concerns may guide counseling messages to minimize psychosocial impact.

Development and validation of a diabetes risk score among two populations.

The purpose of this study was to assess the validity of a practical diabetes risk score amongst two heterogenous populations, a working population and a non-working population. Study population 1 (n = 2,089) participated in a large-scale screening program offered to retired workers to discover previously undetected/incipient chronic illness. Study population 2 (n = 3,293) was part of a Colorado worksite wellness program health risk assessment. We assessed the relationship between a continuous diabetes risk score at baseline and development of diabetes in the future using logistic regression. Receiver operating curves and sensitivity/specificity of the models were calculated. Across both study populations, we observed that participants with diabetes at follow-up had higher diabetes risk scores at baseline than participants who did not have diabetes at follow-up. On average, the odds ratio of developing diabetes in the future was 1.38 (95% CI: 1.26-1.50, p < 0.0001) for study population 1 and 1.68 (95% CI: 1.45-1.95, p-value < 0.0001) for study population 2. These findings indicate that the diabetes risk score may be generalizable to diverse individuals, and thus potentially a population level diabetes screening tool. Minimally-invasive diabetes risk scores can aid in the identification of sub-populations of individuals at risk for diabetes.

Fighting fatigue: A conceptual model of driver sleep in the gig economy.

The purpose of this paper was to integrate the sleep science, occupational health, and organizational psychology literature to develop a conceptual model of driver sleep and fatigue in the gig economy. We develop an integrative framework, which proposes that aspects of the on-demand driving context influence driver sleep health and fatigue. Driver outcomes include safety incidents, injuries, health, job attitudes, interpersonal behavior, and performance. In addition, moderators, such as driver demographics and health conditions, can interact with aspects of the driver context. A number of practical implications are provided, addressing the ways in which occupational health researchers, online labor platform companies, and drivers can improve sleep health. This is the first paper to provide a broad understanding of how scientists, through both research and practice, can help improve sleep, a primary issue in the ridesharing industry.